THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER. TUESDAY, MAY 28, 1901.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 155, 28 May 1901, Page 2

THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER. TUESDAY, MAY 28, 1901.

THE Waimate Traders Association has early began to show the necessity for its formatiou. At the meeting on Thursday the ■ridiculous differential tariff in force on certain portions of the Government railways formed the j subject of some remarks by the J chairman of the meeting, Mrj J. Manchester. We commend the remarks to the attention of our readers. To the unofficial mind it seems a curious thing I hat goods should be carried from Dunedin to Waimate at different rates over different parts of the lines, and it is rather surprising that the present Minister of Railways should allow theseanomalies 10 continue. The reason why 12s (vl a ton all round is charged between Dunedin and Oamaru is because the steamers running between these ports would get ail the trade if the railways charged a higher rate- We do not suppose for a .moment that the railway makes a loss by carrying goods at that figure, otherwise it would be folly of which even a Government Department would scarcely be guilty to continue the practice. If it pays at 12s 6d a ton for eighty or ninety miles, why should the next thirty miles cost 20s ? As showing the curious' way in which things are done, it may be mentioned that it costs (ess to bring goods from Dunedin to Oamaru than it does to bring the same class ot goods from Dunedin to some stations the train passes on the way to Oamaru. The evil is one that should be agitated against by all the inland districts affected, for in no other way is relief likely to be gained. In the attempt to run off the, steamers the same curious policy is carried out in regard "to passengsr traffic. On Tuesdays and Fridays a second-class return ticket bet-ween Oamaru and Dunedin costs 10s only, while on the other days of the week the same ticket costs 15s. Probably the railway officials think this kind of thing is conducting the business on commercial principles, but the, people to ■•whom ths railways belong want to know why the service which is worth only 10s on Friday should cost 15s on Saturday, and why a ton of sugar should cost more for thirty miles over one part of the line than for the eight) or nine'.y previous miles it had been carried. We trust that the efforts of the Waimate Traders Association will result in exposing and remedying the present anomalous state of things.